Gillitts cancer warrior gran plans for inevitable
The 55-year-old Kemery-Lee Docherty hopes to raise enough funds to cover the unforeseen medical expenses and help look after her girls for a few months when she passes.
SELFLESS and humble are just two words to describe Gillitts grandmother, Kemery-Lee Docherty who, despite her ongoing battle with a vicious cancer, wants nothing more than to know her family will be cared for when she passes on.
Her fiercely loyal friend, Karyn Smith has started a BackABuddy page to help raise much-needed funds.
The 55-year-old was diagnosed with breast cancer near the end of 2018 and it has now spread to her liver, abdomen and into her bones.
She went for mammograms, CT scans and bone scans and they offered her the choice to have a mastectomy. During her visit with a surgeon she was told they would not operate.
“They realised the cancer had gone into the bone and there were lesions on my liver. I was placed on a tablet course of treatment and a bone infusion drip that would help strengthen the bone,” said the soft-spoken mother of two.
Due to the severity and spread of the cancer, she was then told the care she would receive would be palliative care. She was given strong medication to help manage the pain.
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“At first the pain was manageable as there wasn’t a lot then but, unfortunately now, there is pain everywhere,” she said. “I didn’t want to ask how long I have left as I don’t really want to know.”
Kemery-Lee, or Kim as she is more affectionately known, currently lives with her two parents, her daughter, who works part-time, and two grandchildren. She went for her first session of chemotherapy last week and has booked herself off from work using her accumulated leave.
Since her diagnosis, she has been in and out of government hospitals, sometimes sitting in the waiting room in extreme pain only to be told her file has been lost and would need to return another day, the correct equipment was not available for a procedure or was double booked and never notified of a follow up date. Without medical aid, she expects the unseen bills and expenses to rack up and fears that she will not be able to afford to look after her family and herself.
“My main focus is my girls and what happens to them when…,” she tears up, but doesn’t finish the sentence. “I cant think farther than that because I won’t be here.”
Kim admitted that some days were better than others and, due to the extensive ascites (excess abdominal fluid), would sometimes find it extremely difficult to move, or even breathe.
Her loyal friend, Karyn, learnt of her situation and contacted Dr Kams Govender as the excess fluid in her abdomen had become dangerous to her health and needed to be drained.
“I called ahead and chatted to him prior to the appointment and asked that he please allow me to come in and pay on my way home. In the meantime, he would see her. A little later he called me and, never in a million years, did I imagine he would tell me what he did. He said he won’t be charging me for that day’s appointment, nor any appointment in future,” said a delighted Smith.
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